Supporter.



PATBNTED MAIL-24, 1903.

M. VAN DUYN.

SUPPORTER.

APPLIOA-TION 111mm NOV. 10, 1902.

10 MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT GEFI E.

MARIAN VAN DUYN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,560, dated March24, 1903.

Application filed November 10, 1902. Serial No. 130,653. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARIAN VAN DUYN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of No. 45 West Nineteenth street, in the city of New York, inthe county and State of New York, have invented a new Supporter, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of supporters or garters usually wornby women and children for the purpose of holding the stockings properlyin place.

The object of my invention is to provide a device which will firmly andsecurely support the stocking in place and also hold the corsets intheir proper position and which will not bind nor chafe when the body isin motion, but will allow a free and easy movement without pulling ortearing the stockings or chafing the skin of the wearer.

In the various devices now in use and worn by women and children themeans of support of the elastic straps or garters isgenerally apermanent buckle or other similar device, and the result of wearing sucha supporter when the body is in motion is to unevenly distribute thetension upon the ends of the supporter where the same is adjusted to thestockings and generally results in'injurious pressure on the abdomen andin the movement of the buckle, which becomes uncomfortable and oftenannoying to the wearer. This also causes unnecessary tension upon thestocking and results in tearing holes in the same. My device obviatesall of these difficulties, allows a free motion to the strap, andadjusts itself to every position which the limbs or body of the wearermay take while in motion. At the same time the corset is held in place.

I have illustrated my invention by the accompanying drawings, in whichlike characters refer to like parts throughout the various figures.

Figure 1 is a plan or flat View of one of my improved supporters. of aportion of the lower extremity of an ordinary corset. Fig. 3 is a frontperspective View of a female figure and showing a pair of my improvedsupports in position to support the stockings. Fig. 4 is a side view ofa female figure with my improved supporters in position and illustratingthe action of the Fig. 2 is a front viewsupporters when the body of thewearer is in motion; and Fig. 5 is a central vertical section on theplane a; x of Fig. l and showing the relation of the fastening device onthe upper ends of the supporter, with suitable plates secured to thecorset near the lower edge thereof.

A is a strap or band of elastic material provided at its ends withsuitable fastening devices B for attachment to the stocking C.

D is a non-elastic strap or band provided at its ends with fasteningdevices consisting of a sheet-metal plate 1, bent to form aforwardly-trending hook 2, and with its lower extremities confining theend of the strap 'or band D, and held in proper and fixed relationtherewith through the medium of barbs 3, on one of the extremitiespassing through slots in the other extremity and clenched in an obviousmanner as clearly shown at Fig. 5. The forward extremity of the plate 1is formed with a post 4 similar to the ordinary glove-fastener andadapted to interlock with a corresponding socket 5 within a plate 6,which is connected by a hinge-joint with the forward extremity of thehook 2. Instead of this device any suitable fastener may be employed.

E isa smooth ring suspended upon the upper non-elastic strap or band D,as clearly shown at Fig. 1, and if thought desirable the two divergingportions or arms of said band may be stitched together at the point indicated by the letter F to securely hold the ring in place.

The non-elastic strap or band D is predeterminedly made of such lengthwith reference to anatomical proportions of the wearer that when it issuitably connected with the corset in the manner presently described thering E will occupy a position over the groincavity, as indicatedat G inFigs. 3 and 4.;

y The elastic strap or band A'is made predeterminedly longer than thenon-elastic strap or band D and of such length that the two ends thereofmay be conveniently adjusted to and fastened upon the stocking C. Thisof said strap or band may take place without disturbing the location ofthe ring D.

Referring to Fig. 2, H represents the lower front portion of a corset,and I I are twoplates secured thereto by suitable rivets J. These platesare each provided with longitudinal slots K for the passage of the hooks2 on the ends of the strap or band D, so that said hooks takebearing'upon the lower edges of said slots, and when the supporters arein proper position the elastic strain thereof tends to hold the loweredge of the corset down in an obvious manner. These plates I are alsoprovided with holes L, through which the posts 4 pass, and when theplates 6 are closed down and over the posts 4 the relation between thehooks 2 and the plates I on the corset becomes fixed, and no strain isexerted upon the interlocked posts 4 and sockets 5; but the entirestrain is exerted by the hooks 2 upon the plates I, as heretoforeexplained. As the strap or band D is non-elastic and of suchpredetermined length that the ring E will be located over thegroin-cavity, it will be seen that no pressure by said strap or band isexerted upon the abdomen and that in consequence of the immovability ofsaid'strap or band the ring E remains stationary and is not subjected tothe vertical and lateral movements common to supporters of ordinaryconstruction and in which the upper band or strap is flexible and thedistance between the upper ends of said band, and the ring or buckleattached thereto is variable, owing to the elastic properties andmovements of the strap or band, which conditions subject the wearer toan unpleasant and chafing action by the ringorbuckle.Withmyimprovedsupporter, while the upper strap or band and ring orbuckle secured thereto are immovable, the lower strap or band, by reasonof its elastic property and adaptation to bodily movement through thering, distributes equally all strain each side of the medial linebetween the two divergent ends of said strap or band, and thus preventsabnormal strain upon either of the fastening devices attached to thestocking, thereby reducing the probability of tearing the stocking.

By reason of the non-elastic and immovable conditions of the upper strapor hand all tension exerted through the lower strap or band upon thering intermediate of the two straps or bands is distributed equallythrough the divergent ends of the upper strap or hand in such mannerthat the strain upon the corset is in a direct line between theshoulders and the knees, thus relieving the abdomen of all pressure, asheretofore explained.

Having described the construction and advantages of my improvedsupporter, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is r 1. A stocking-supporter consisting ofan upper non-elastic strap ofpredetermined length and provided at each end with suitable means forattachment to a corset, a ring centrally supported upon said upper strapand an elastic strap predeterininedly longer than the upper non-elasticstrap and provided at its ends with means for attachment to a stocking,said elastic strap movably suspended upon the ring intermediate of thetwo straps, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. A stocking-supporter having the ends of its upper strap provided witha metallic hook adapted to rest Within a slot in a suitable plateattached to a corset, and with a forwardlyprojecting post or teat belowthe hook, in gon bination with a plate hinged to the extremity of thehook and provided with a suitable socket adapted to interlock with thepost or teat on the hook-plate, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

Signed at the city of New York, county of New York, State of New York,this 6th day of November, 1902.

MARIAN VAN DUYN.

In presence of- FRED. H. PATTERSON, JAMES Hess.

